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Berkeley becomes first U.S. city to ban natural gas in new homes
By Sarah Ravani Updated 12:07 pm PDT, Wednesday, July 17, 2019
Natural gas piping for stoves or water heaters will be forbidden in new buildings in Berkeley, Calif., beginning in 2020. (Andrii Biletskyi/Dreamstime/TNS) Photo: Andrii Biletskyi / TNS
Photo: Andrii Biletskyi / TNS
Natural gas piping for stoves or water heaters will be forbidden in new buildings in Berkeley, Calif., beginning in 2020. (Andrii Biletskyi/Dreamstime/TNS)
Berkeley became the first city nationwide to ban the use of natural gas in new low-rise residential buildings in a unanimous vote Tuesday by the City Council.
The ordinance, introduced by Councilwoman Kate Harrison, goes into effect Jan. 1, 2020, and phases out the use of natural gas by requiring all new single-family homes, town homes and small apartment buildings to have electric infrastructure. After its passage, Harrison thanked the community and her colleagues “for making Berkeley the first city in California and the United States to prohibit natural gas infrastructure in new buildings.”
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The city will include commercial buildings and larger residential structures as the state moves to develop regulations for those, officials said.
The ordinance allocates $273,341 per year for a two-year staff position in the Building and Safety Division within the city’s Department of Planning and Development. The employee will be responsible for implementing the ban.
“I’m proud to vote on groundbreaking legislation to prohibit natural gas in new buildings,” Mayor Jesse Arreguín said on Twitter. “We are committed to the #ParisAgreement and must take immediate action in order to reach our climate action goals. It’s not radical, it’s necessary.”
I’m proud to vote on groundbreaking legislation to prohibit natural gas in new buildings. We are committed to the #ParisAgreement and must take immediate action in order to reach our climate action goals. It’s not radical, it’s necessary. #berkmtg
— Jesse Arreguin (@JesseArreguin) July 17, 2019